Nutrient problems or something more sinister?

Outdoor grow in a pot. Plant about 3 months old. Medium of equal parts seed raising mix, perlite, homemade composted soil...a little vermiculite.
Watering 2-3 days a week depending on weather. Feeding schedule - Miracle-Gro Maxfeed (24-6-12) weekly. Just plain water or Seasol (Seaweed extract) diluted in water for other waters. PH of 6.0-6.5.
Grown this strain outdoors before with no issues.

This was taken less than two weeks ago. Was a happy and healthy plant. A little nitrogen deficiency on the older leaves. A touch of browning on the tips of some of the fans. Nothing of concern...smelt like heaven.


This is her this morning.

Curled leaves (particularly on newer growth), necrosis, bent stems, leaves turning inside out, fan leaves bent at near right angles, leaves falling off, perfume gone. A mantis which has lived exclusively on her since the first few weeks has now gone AWOL.



This Final pic is of her brother who was showing similar problems and was dead within the fortnight. Not that I fought to save him as he was to be ripped!


Live in suburban locale with high fences.

My only plant for the season and I'm desperate to keep it. Don't wanna be paying for my smoke for the next 12 months.

What's ya think?

Cheers THC

Looks like sulfur and phosphorus deficiency which would indicate a potential PH problem, overwatering or soil pest.

Clean and calibrate your ph meter, make sure the soil is not waterlogged and put a half cup of the dirt up to a microscope to check for pests.

Btw this all assumes you are using a professional potting mix and didn't dig the dirt up out of the back yard.

Looks to me like overwatering. Do you wait for the soil to dry *significantly* before watering? The best way to tell is to lift the container. It should be alarmingly light (but not to the point the leaves are wilting, but you can get pretty close.).

az2000 said:

Looks to me like overwatering

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I agree --> over watering.

Feeding schedule - Miracle-Gro Maxfeed (24-6-12) weekly
I think you cooked it my friend.

blackforest said:

Feeding schedule - Miracle-Gro Maxfeed (24-6-12) weekly
I think you cooked it my friend.

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You must be joking right?‎

Yep definately poisoned.

Lurr said:

You must be joking right?‎

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I'm pretty sure that fertilizer killed your plant according to your pictures. Over watering does not do that by itself. What was your ec?

blackforest said:

I'm pretty sure that fertilizer killed your plant according to your pictures. Over watering does not do that by itself. What was your ec?

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Errrr...It's my plant, champ. Not lurr's.

I've been feeding her on a weekly basis as per package directions for the past two months. Nothing's changed.
Have a look at the first pic...she was growing gangbusters.

TheHungryCaterpillar said:

Errrr...It's my plant, champ. Not lurr's.

I've been feeding her on a weekly basis as per package directions for the past two months. Nothing's changed.
Have a look at the first pic...she was growing gangbusters.

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You got me. What can I say. You obviously know what you are doing. Sorry if I offended you #safespace

TheHungryCaterpillar said:

Have a look at the first pic...she was growing gangbusters.

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That's a good point. Your fertilizer as NPK ratio 4-1-2 is pretty high in N. They have a point about that. But, some people feed 3-1-2 in veg (all Dyna-Gro users). 4-1-2 doesn't sound crazy. I don't see NPK tox in that first picture like I think I would.

blackforest said:

You got me. What can I say. You obviously know what you are doing. Sorry if I offended you #safespace

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What is it about the fertilizer that you see being so absolutely culpable? I don't see it. (But, there's a lot of things I don't see. I'm just trying to understand.).

Lurr said:

Looks like sulfur and phosphorus deficiency which would indicate a potential PH problem, overwatering or soil pest.

Clean and calibrate your ph meter, make sure the soil is not waterlogged and put a half cup of the dirt up to a microscope to check for pests.

Btw this all assumes you are using a professional potting mix and didn't dig the dirt up out of the back yard.

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Soils all good, mate. Growing tomato plants in same mix with similar feeding schedule. They're all nice n healthy.

Used soil PH test kit for reading. Soil in Tomato plants show similar readings.

az2000 said:

Looks to me like overwatering. Do you wait for the soil to dry *significantly* before watering? The best way to tell is to lift the container. It should be alarmingly light (but not to the point the leaves are wilting, but you can get pretty close.).

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Maybe...I kept the water up to her last week when temps ranged from 33-43C (92-110F). Plant was moved indoors during hottest part of days.
Still it doesn't explain the necrosis.

The male was definitely not overwatered.

blackforest said:

You got me. What can I say. You obviously know what you are doing. Sorry if I offended you #safespace

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Offended? What!!
Just trying to get a handle on what's happened to this healthy plant given nothing has changed much in regards to feeding and watering.
How quickly the male died makes me suspicious.

TheHungryCaterpillar said:

Offended? What!!
Just trying to get a handle on what's happened to this healthy plant given nothing has changed much in regards to feeding and watering.
How quickly the male died makes me suspicious.

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what was the ec/ppm of the water solution you were feeding them? Is the ph you stated before or after adding nutes? Are you able to test the ph/ec of the runoff?

To tell you the truth I dont know much about EC/PPM readings. Isn't that of more importance for soiless and indoor grows?
I don't usually bother with PH either as Melbourne has some of the best drinking water in the world with a consistent PH. I leave water 24-48hrs to allow any chlorine to evaporate. The Plant hasn't been fed for a week. PH was acquired from samples of the soil from different depths/areas
I'll test the runoff of the water once I give her a water.
Cheers

So mystery solved (I think).

A noobish error..I cooked the roots! I left the potted plants on a dark concrete patio during a period of hot weather. It killed the male but by dumb luck I brought the female inside on the xtreme days. My tomato plants survived as they were in polystyrene boxes.

I've lost a few large fans on the lower levels and will likely lose more but I think she'll survive. Newer growth is looking healthy.

Any advice on how I can get the root system up n healthy again would be great.



Cheers..

Wishing all posters a Merry Christmas. Hope your Christmas trees are bushy.

Just chiming in.

Rip those bottom dead leaves off. Transplant in cloth pot. Water when she needs it and feed her when she begs for it.

For roots use THIS